Not really my idea of a good time since I didn’t want any of the people I cared about coming to my rescue. No one was going to die for me. However, Daniel was a different matter altogether.
With a grunt of disbelief aimed at Junior, Sandy turned to me and smiled.
“Hi, I’m Sandy,” she said warmly, extending her hand to me. “It’s lovely to meet you. I’ve heard such wonderful things about you and Daniel from Essie.”
“Likewise,” I said as I took her hand in mine.
Her grip was strong and she met my eyes—not an easy thing to do with a Dragon. She was not one to screw with and I liked her. I liked her even more when she squatted down and offered her hand to Daniel. She didn’t even flinch as he covered her in ketchup when he avoided the shake and went right in for a hug.
“You’re a handsome little man,” she said, ruffling his hair and then scooping him up in her arms. “I have a nephew about your age. Maybe you can come over and play.”
Daniel’s eyes grew wide and he began to tremble. He’d never played with anyone his age and guilt washed over me yet again at how sheltered his life had been.
“Ohhhhhh Mommy, can I pway with Sandy’s neffu?” he asked.
“I think we might be able to work something out,” I said carefully, wondering if it would be safe. If others in the town held the same opinion of Dragons that Jimbo did, I wasn’t so sure about Daniel being out of my sight.
“I’ll go with him,” Dwayne offered as he either read my mind or expression.
“Me too,” Granny added quickly. “I haven’t seen Sandy’s momma in ages. I’m due for some town gossip.”
Being around people I trusted was seductive. I’d never had it except as a child. My mother would have died for us…and in the end she did. She basically ran interference so my three brothers and I could escape my father’s deadly wrath. My brothers didn’t make it and neither did my mother. I did and I’d lived with the guilt of being the only survivor for hundreds of years. Until Daniel came along I lived my life in my mother’s and brothers’ honor. Avenging them was my only mission. Having Daniel only increased my need to end my father before it was too late.
“Sandy?” my son asked in a shy tone as he gently patted her hair inadvertently smearing it with red, crusty ketchup. “Will you mate wif me?”
Her laugh sounded like bells and I giggled at the audacity of my four-year old Romeo.
“Daniel, I think I might be a little bit old for you, but you have made my year in a big way,” she told him and hugged him tight.
“She’s gonna mate with me,” Junior informed the room as he grinned and winked at Sandy.
“We’ll see about that,” she muttered as she put Daniel down and took the knife from Junior’s hand.
“Sumbitch!” Junior crowed joyously as he picked a shocked Sandy up and swung her around the room. “You people heard it here. Sandy is mine and she agreed to it.”
“I wouldn’t go quite that far,” Essie said with a laugh. “But I will say you’re making progress.”
“Sandy is right here,” the gal in question grumbled as she eased her way out of Junior’s arms a little slower than someone who hated the person would. “I’ve agreed to nothing, but I’m slightly impressed with your restraint in the lady department.”
“There are no other women,” Junior promised as he crossed his heart and gave her lopsided grin that even melted my heart a little bit. “You’re it for me. The sooner you come to your senses, the sooner I’ll take you out in my truck and make you see Jesus and all the angels and saints.”
“Um, Junior, you probably should have stopped after the ‘you’re it for me’ part,” Hank said with a grimace.
I couldn’t have agreed more. I half expected Sandy to slug him.
“Dream on, Big Boy,” Sandy snapped at Junior as she extended her arm. “Chip me and then you can remove all the cameras you have trained on me all over town.”
“You know about that?” Junior was flabbergasted and began to pace the room in distress.
“What do I look like to you? An idiot? I completely disabled the one you put in my bathroom. Which by the way, makes you a total jackhole,” Sandy informed him as she took a seat behind his desk and watched him wreak havoc in his office.
“I thought it was a little weird that you never took a shower,” Junior mumbled as he jogged the perimeter of the room knocking everything off of the walls and every surface he passed.
Essie pulled me and Daniel up on the couch so we didn’t get stepped on. Books and papers flew everywhere. Granny and Dwayne levitated and watched with glee. Hank was the only one brave enough to stay put.
“I swear to Jesus in a jockstrap I was gonna take those down,” Junior bellowed in a panic as he dropped to his knees in front of her. “I can’t stand the thought of anyone hurting you, so I um…figured out a way to keep you safe. I know it was a jackhole move. I’m no longer a manwhore, but I might be a jackhole for the rest of my days. Please Sandy,” he shouted causing everyone in the room to slap their hands over their ears—including Sandy. “Just give me a dang chance. Tell me that you can find it in your heart to love a jackhole.”
The room was quiet as we watched Sandy mull over the jackhole proposition. It was a doozy.
“Three dates,” she told him calmly as we all let out a collective sigh of relief.
“How about three weeks of dates every night?” Junior countered.
“Why three weeks?” Sandy asked, perplexed.
“Well, Essie said I had to date you three weeks before I could get into your pants,” he explained innocently, as if he wasn’t bargaining to get laid.
“I said a month,” Essie volunteered.
“I figured three weeks was close enough,” Junior said.
Sandy closed her eyes and breathed in slowly through her nose and then let it out even more slowly through her mouth. She had a hell of a lot of restraint…or she liked him a whole lot more than she was letting on.
“You get three dates. If you behave like a gentleman, you might get another. However, you’re on trial, Jacob. And you will not be getting into my pants any time soon. Are we clear?”
“Totally,” Junior, aka Jacob said in an outdoor voice, but thankfully not quite loud enough to damage eardrums. “She is so into me,” he told the room.
“We done here?” Hank asked with a smirk.
“We are,” Sandy replied as she stood and left Junior on the floor behind her. “Dima, are you all right with getting chipped?”
“I’m all right with Daniel being chipped,” I admitted. “But I don’t want any of you in danger because of me.”
“I live for danger,” Dwayne announced as he floated back to the floor. “And I’ll sleep far better if I know where you are.”
“Heavens to Murgatroyd, you should see him when he sleeps. He looks dead,” Granny said as she too floated back down.
“He is dead. He’s a Vampyre,” Essie stated the obvious as she gathered the chips and swabbed Daniel’s arm with alcohol. “Dima, I want you chipped and I don’t want to have to kick your ass to accomplish it.”
“She’s right,” Hank agreed as he carefully slit my son’s skin and inserted the chip. “Whether you like it or not, we consider you part of our mismatched pack. We take care of our own.”
Daniel barely flinched when Hank cut him. My boy was brave. Hank grabbed him and planted a big kiss on his cheek as Daniel giggled with pride.
I lowered my eyes so no one saw the tears gathering there. Luck didn’t play into my life, so I had to believe this was fate. I’d found these people because I was supposed to. Hopefully I’d be able to return some of the gifts they were giving me.
I extended my arm to a still smiling Hank and let him chip me. Having my back covered was new and it felt dangerously good.
Sandy let Junior chip her with a large eye roll and enough attitude and back talk to keep him on his toes. He was going to have a hell of a time truly winning her over, but I suspected he eventual
ly would. Not because he would lose the jackhole part of him overnight—or ever, but because Sandy wanted him just as much as he wanted her.
“So you wanna bring Seth over for dinner?” Essie asked with a grin as she put a super hero bandage on Daniel and a Sponge Bob one on me.
“Yes,” I replied. “I think you all will like him. He’s a lovely Dragon.”
“I still say he’s gotta be ugly,” Dwayne announced to the general population as we all made our way out of the office. “You just don’t describe someone who is do-it worthy as a lovely person.”
“Dwayne,” Essie said mildly.
“Yes?” he inquired politely.
“Shut your cakehole or I’ll shut it for you.”
“Fine point. Well made,” my opinionated Vampyre friend said as he hoisted Daniel up on his shoulders.
“Cakehole,” Daniel shouted as he played Dwayne’s bald head like it was a drum.
Never in my years did I ever think I would see a Dragon sitting on a Vampyre’s shoulders using him for percussion that didn’t end in a bloody death. Lately, my life never ceased to amaze me.
“Damn it, Dwayne, don’t cuss around the child,” Granny groused as she too took a swipe at Dwayne’s head. “We’re gonna take this little man on a play date and meet you and your friend at Essie’s for dinner. Sound good?”
My hesitation was brief as I observed Daniel’s excitement at getting to play with someone his own age. I knew he’d be safe with both Granny and Dwayne, but it still worried me.
“Yes,” I said slowly, putting a smile on my face for Daniel’s benefit. “Just make sure he doesn’t burn their house down or shift. Might be a little awkward.”
“Got it,” Dwayne said as he gave my arm a quick squeeze. “You go enjoy your really, really nice Dragon. And you know…he might be an ass man since the boob flopped.”
“I have some booty shorts in my purse if you wanna borrow them,” Granny offered as she began to dig for them.
“No. No, I’m good,” I insisted. I didn’t know whether to laugh or scream. While the sentiment was um…lovely, the reality was wrong on too many levels to even explain. However, I did briefly consider that fact that Seth might be an ass man.
“Six thirty,” Essie said as she grabbed Hank’s hand and pulled him down Main Street. “Be there and bring your appetite. And don’t worry. I’m ordering out so it will be edible!”
“Thank God for small favors,” Granny whispered as she, Dwayne, Sandy and Daniel piled into her car.
“Heard that, you old bat,” Essie called over her shoulder as Hank laughed. “Just for that I’ll be making your plate.”
The laughter was real and the love was evident. This was as good as it got.
It was just too bad it couldn’t last.
Chapter 4
“I won’t be able to stay,” Seth said as he took my hand and led me to the lovely couch in our three-bedroom suite. The Hung Bed and Breakfast was cozy and homey. I was hoping to get cozy with Seth, but clearly we weren’t of the same mind.
I was thrown by the fact that he’d reserved three bedrooms, not two. I stared at Seth and again tried to determine if he was gay. Male Dragons were perpetually horny. Seth was an anomaly. Maybe he was asexual. I’d never come across this phenomenon, but I also never thought I would be welcomed in a pack consisting of Werewolves and Vampyres. Unusually strange was my new normal and I decided to embrace it.
Hell, I was 499 years old, sex was just sex. I’d had plenty of sex in my lifetime and sadly it often ended in the death of my partner, thanks to my psychotic father. Seth would probably live longer if we didn’t have an intimate relationship. And to be honest, even sex had gotten old in my long lifetime.
I realized in that moment that there were far more important things than the physical. A good male role model for Daniel beat my need for sexual release by a mile. Seth’s kindness and loyalty to me and my son was something beautiful in a very violent world. My needs would always come second to my son’s. There was no way I could do better than Seth. If he was willing to mate with me, I would love and accept him exactly as he was.
“When do you have to go?” I asked, holding tightly to his large warm hands.
“I leave tonight. The Resistance has called a gathering. I want you to be there.”
“Um…not sure that’s a great plan,” I said as I stood and began to pace. “I’m the daughter of the person the Resistance wants eliminated. That sounds a little like I’d be walking into a shitshow ending in my fiery death.”
Seth’s gentle laugh at my unladylike language made me smile. Everything the man did made me smile. My determination to please him only increased. I sat back down and prepared myself to listen before I came to a conclusion about going—not my normal MO, but I was turning over a new leaf.
“The Resistance needs you, Dima and you need the help of the Resistance. Neither one of us has been able to defeat your father alone. It’s far past time for us to join forces,” he said as he tucked a few curly strands of my hair behind my ears.
I laid my cheek in the palm of his hand and felt safe and content. “They won’t want me there.”
“Some will be averse at first, but the truth remains unyielding. Success is unattainable without trying something new. Your father could never imagine that you would go to these extremes to take him out.”
I got lost in Seth’s beautiful eyes for a moment and couldn’t find my train of thought. I really could love this man. I was certain I already loved him and I felt his love in return. It wasn’t the kind of love that consisted of fireworks and raw need—it was more mature and lasting. Something I’d never experienced before. It was real and I was going to fight for it. If Seth thought I should go. I would go.
“The leader, Nicolai,” I said haltingly. “He won’t stand for it. I can guarantee that.”
“Nicolai is a good man—deadly, but good,” Seth said with a chuckle. “He can be difficult, but he’s far from stupid. He will see reason. You, my dear, are the missing puzzle piece he has been looking for. Nicolai may not realize this yet, but I’m quite sure of it.”
For a moment I wondered if all Seth wanted from me was my help with the Resistance, but pushed it aside immediately. He was a pure hearted man. I could tell. I hadn’t lived as long as I had without being able to judge true character.
“You really think this would work?” I asked.
I resumed my pacing as it helped me think. I’d known of Nicolai and the Resistance for several hundred years. I’d actually considered joining them once or twice in the last few decades, but after Daniel’s arrival I’d dismissed the thought. It was too dangerous to have all my cards on the table.
“I know it will work.”
“They cannot under any circumstances know about Daniel,” I stated firmly.
My life was expendable. My son’s was not.
“As you wish.” Seth nodded and pulled me into his strong arms.
I relaxed and let his steady warmth sink into me. However, something held me back from telling him about emptying my father’s coffers. As much as I trusted Seth, if the Resistance didn’t accept me, I still needed a plan. Seth was part of the Resistance. If they denied me, I would not ask him to choose. Daniel was my first priority and no matter how wonderful Seth was, he would always come second.
“Can you come to dinner with me at Essie’s? All my friends will be there and Daniel will too. He’ll be so disappointed if he doesn’t see you.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. I need to meet these Wolves and Vampyres that accept Dragons,” Seth said, squeezing me tight. “I’ll leave after dinner and you’ll meet me at midnight tonight.”
“Where am I meeting you?” I asked, silently beginning to second-guess my quick acquiescence.
“Chicago.”
Thank God, I knew Chicago well. If I needed to make a quick escape, it would be far easier in a city I was familiar with. Seth might be correct. I hadn’t been successful on my own. Even if I drained m
y father’s assets, he would still have a small group of loyal followers. It could be strategically outstanding if I had an army of my own. His death would be more assured and I could die on my 500th birthday knowing Daniel would be safe.
But if Seth would mate with me, I might get a happily ever after…
“You ready to meet my ragtag pack?” I asked as I pushed my hopeful thoughts away and focused on the man in front of me.
“Am I?” he questioned with a lopsided grin.
“Probably not, but I can promise you’ll have fun.”
With one last sweet hug he let me go and extended his hand. “Let’s do it. No one is going to believe me if I regale them with this story, but I’ve been waiting a long time to break bread with a species other than Dragon.”
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